‘Chamakay’ is the latest single from Blood Orange, aka Dev Hynes. The track is the first offering from his second album Cupid Deluxe, which was announced yesterday and is to be released in November.
In a statement, Hynes revealed that the track is the result of a trip to Guyana, his mother’s birth place, commenting that, ‘I tracked down family members, including my 92 year old grandfather, who I had never met before’.
The result is gentle, mournful even. It’s beautiful in places, and deserves to be listened to through a proper system or decent headphones; musical intricacies and subtleties are easily missed.
‘Chamakay’ does tend, however, to drift into easy listening. It lacks power and the fierce originality of previous offerings such as ‘Dinner’ and ‘Sutphin Boulevard’, which set the bar extremely high. If I were to be unkind, I’d say it sounds like a Prince B-Side.
I eagerly await Cupid Deluxe, if only to seen if Blood Orange can capture us like he did with Coastal Grooves.
6/10
Released September 13th on Domino
